Selected by Bombardier in 2011 to design and manufacture the center fuselage of the Global 7000 and 8000 corporate jets, Aerolia announced today in Montréal, jointly with the Canadian Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export (MDEIE) and the French Ambassador, the upcoming construction in Québec of its assembly plant dedicated to this new program.

One year after the creation of its subsidiary Aerolia Canada and the setting up of its Design Office in Montréal, Aerolia confirms its commitment to deliver to Bombardier, in a close relationship, its best expertise in metal and composite materials.

"With an Aerolia Design Office in Montréal where about 100 engineers are already designing the center fuselage assembly, the program is on track. The announcement of the construction of an assembly plant in Québec formalizes a major, ambitious and exciting step forward, thereby giving concrete form to the industrial chapter of our contract with Bombardier. This new site will give an impulse to the exploration of new markets and new customers", said Christian Cornille, CEO of Aerolia sas.

A mutual commitment

In that context, Aerolia would like to express all its gratitude to the Government of Québec for all its efforts in setting up appropriate conditions for the development of Aerolia Canada.

"To support its development, Aerolia should receive, by 2018, a financial contribution of over 75 million Canadian dollars, that is approximately 60 million Euros. This includes financing our Research & Development efforts in Québec as well as setting up industrial facilities in the great area of Montréal. Thanks to this financing, more than 150 jobs will be created in Québec ", said Marie-Agnes Veve, CEO of Aerolia Canada.

The Province of Québec plays an active role in this project, with a financial support of 15 million Canadian dollars for the development of Aerolia, 5 millions of which are a non- refundable contribution.

A two-stage schedule

This industrial development of Aerolia in Québec will start by mid-2013. Meanwhile, the production of the first subassemblies will take place in the French and Tunisian sites of Aerolia.

"To conduct the project, we received a substantial support from Montréal International, the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export as well as from Investissement Québec, and I take the opportunity to thank them for their hospitality", said Marie-Agnes Veve, CEO of Aerolia Canada.

The way is now open and the first aircraft will fully benefit from the experience of the teams from Méaulte, Saint Nazaire, Toulouse and Tunis. Once the new plant is built, the team currently performing assembly operations in our French facilities in the Picardy Region will hand over this activity to the new Aerolia team.

The "plug & fly" delivery concept of Aerolia takes shape

Aerolia Canada will employ more than 150 persons on 1 site in Canada dedicated to Engineering and the "plug & fly" assembly of the fuselage. With this concept, the already equipped and tested fuselages will be directly delivered to Bombardier's assembly lines.

These assembly operations will also help in developing the supply chain of Québec and north America that will be involved in the ramp-up and development phases of this Bombardier program.

Preserving the historical sites of Aerolia

While expanding on the international level and exploring new markets, Aerolia maintains its historical sites in France.

"With 220 millions invested since 2009 on its site of Méaulte for the production of metal and composite aerostructures for the A350, a new investment of 100 millions over 5 years has just been made official for our Aerolia site in Saint-Nazaire. Such efforts demonstrate our offensive industrial strategy combined with a significant employment policy since more than 800 jobs will be created over 4 years" concludes Christian Cornille.